Special Prosecutor Not Ruling Out Felony Charges Against New Berlin Police Chief
Published:
November 10th, 2008
By:
Tyler Murphy

NORWICH
–
The
Town
of
New
Berlin
Police
Chief
accused
of
assaulting
a
42-year-old
man
had
his
case
rescheduled
to
later
in
December
and
the
special
prosecutor
in
the
case
says
felony
charges
are
still
a
possibility.

Assigned
Special
Prosecutor
Paul
Tomkins
of
Binghamton
said
he
had
not
yet
reviewed
the
recently-completed
medical
report
involving
the
victim
and
that
its
findings
would
influence
his
decision
to
file
felony
charges.

Chenango
County
Sheriff’s
deputies
arrested
Richard
P.
Kellar,
43,
Norwich,
around
1:30
a.m.
Oct.
30
in
the
hamlet
of
South
New
Berlin.
Kellar
was
charged
with
third
degree
assault,
a
class
A
misdemeanor,
after
he
allegedly
caused
physical
injury
to
another
person.

“We’ll
have
to
wait
on
the
medical
records
to
determine
where
things
stand,”
said
Tomkins
Monday
morning.
He
explained
that
the
extent
of
the
victim’s
injuries
and
how
they
were
inflicted
impacted
the
degree
of
the
assault
charges
Kellar
faces.

“While
third
degree
assault
is
a
misdemeanor,
a
bump
to
the
second
degree
charge
would
be
a
felony,”
said
Tomkins.

Tomkins
also
said
that
the
December
delay
in
the
case
was
due
to
a
busy
court
schedule,
the
Thanksgiving
Day
holiday
and
Kellar
seeking
to
retain
private
counsel
in
lieu
of
a
public
defender.

New
Berlin
Town
Supervisor
Ross
Iannello
said
the
town
had
placed
Kellar
on
paid
administrative
leave
pending
the
outcome
of
the
police
investigation.

..

There's More to This Story!

You're only seeing a part of the story.
Subscribe now to get immediate access to the rest of the story as well as our whole online offering.